Canada’s slow real estate market is finally beginning to impact condo apartment prices. CREA data shows its condo apartment house price index (HPI) fell in June. Despite weak demand and rising inventory, prices have outperformed—falling less than the general market. That appears to be changing as price drops get larger, and the rut turns into […]
The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) real estate downturn continued with new homes last month. Altus Group data shows April was the worst month for new home sales on record. Lofty inventory and weak demand continue to apply downward pressure on prices, though they remain sticky at current levels. With demand at a record bottom, that […]
Today’s election day in Canada, and this time tomorrow the country will be bracing itself for one of two plans. There’s no shortage of partisans willing to discuss the positives of each plan, so we thought we’d do something different—discuss the risks of each plan. Let’s talk about comically unrealistic (and reckless) housing targets, and […]
Canadian politicians are promising to build millions of homes—an unrealistic plan not grounded in reality. The good news is the country doesn’t need millions of homes to correct the housing shortage, according to BMO Capital Markets. In a new report, the Big Six bank argues that decades of underbuilding is a myth, and the issue […]
Canada’s weak dollar may be good news for foreign capital but bad news for the cost of living. The loonie has plunged against the US dollar in recent months, and it’s unlikely to improve soon. Currency weakness has been a blow to manufacturers of complex and expensive goods like housing, which have seen input costs […]
Canadian housing starts are starting to lose momentum but they remain lofty. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) data shows a drop in housing starts for September. Despite the slow month, BMO notes the trend is still moving higher, especially considering the environment. The slowdown is contrary to policymaker efforts to triple new home starts, […]
Canadian real estate demand has been so weak that developers are struggling to stay afloat. Naturally, the Government of Canada (GoC) sees this as the perfect time get households to take their shot at playing developer with state-backed loans. This week the GoC announced homeowners looking to turn an “unused basement or garage” into a […]
Canada’s planned builder boom is turning into a bust. The Canadian Home Builders Association (CHBA) released the results of its Q2 2024 survey. They found that home builder sentiment remained negative for an 8th consecutive quarter. As a result of weak demand, most plan to significantly reduce the numbers of homes they build—by half on […]
Finally, some good Canadian real estate news—though it’s unlikely to be a lasting trend. New data from the Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP) at Statistics Canada (Stat Can) shows more new condo apartments were owned by end-users in 2022. As interest rates climbed, prices stalled and investors no longer saw the same return potential. Owner-occupants […]
Canadian policymakers are scrambling to make daily announcements of helicopter cash to stimulate building, but it may have the opposite effect. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows building permit application values slightly increased in January. However most of the gain was lost to inflation, especially when it came to new housing—a segment that showed nearly […]
